Portable grain-elevator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I. A. MILTON. PORTABLE GRAIN ELEVATOR.

No. 601,582. Patented Mar. 29; 1898.

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No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I. A. MILTON. PORTABLE GRAIN ELEVATOR.

No. 601,582, Patented Mar. 29,1898.

HIM ll A TTORNEYS.

raise grain and store it to haul it from the I hauled from field to granary or wherever else that is to say, when the apparatus is stored axle D and pivotally connected with the front rangnlar frame B, and its bottom a is inclined UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ISAAC A. MILTON, OF BIGELOW, MINNESOTA.

PORTABLE RAIN-ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,582, dated March 29, 1898.

Application filed October 16, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISAAC A. MILTON, of Bigelow, in the county of Nobles and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Portable Grain-Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

It is the common practice of farmers who thresher to the granary and transfer it into the latter from the wagon by manual labor that is to say, by means of large scoop-shovels. This method is slow and exceedingly laborious and wearying. I have devised an improved portable elevator for performing the operation. The same is adapted to receive the grain in bulk from the wagon and to hold it while being transferred gradually and automatically into the granary.

The invention is embodied in the construction and arrangement and combination of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, two sheets, Figure 1 is a side view of my improved elevator as arranged for use. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the rear portion of the machine as arranged for use, the same being taken in the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side view ofthe elevator arranged for transportation or storage.

The body A of my elevator is a hopper supported in a wheeled frame B, adapted to be an ordinary farm-wagon may go. The elevator proper or leg 0 is supported in an inclined position when in use, Fig. 1, and in a horizontal position, Fig. 4, when not in use,

or being hauled from place toplace'.

The details of construction and operation are as follows:

The frame B is rigidly attached to the rear axle E, like an ordinary wagon-gear. The tongue F is adapted to be readily detached from the front axle, for a purpose hereinafter stated. I

The hopper A is fitted loosely in the quadfrom front to rear, while its vertical rear end has an opening at the bottom, Fig. 3, which is provided with a sliding gate or valve a,

Serial No. 655,424. (No model.)

Figs. 2 and 3, operated.by a hand -lever a which may be secured in any desired position by any suitable device or form of fastening. The hopper A restsfree on the front bar I) of the frame B, and its rear end is supported adj ustably by a Windlass-that is, by means of ropes or chains G and a winding-shaft H, arranged transversely in a'vertical extension B of the frame, which is arranged directly over the rear axle. The said shaft H is provided with a hand-crank h, by which to rotate it for winding on or letting off the ropes G, according as the hopper A is to be raised or lowered, and a suitable device 72. is employed for locking the crank in any position. I

The body or casing c of the elevator-leg C is provided with an opening a and so constructed at its lower end that the latter will receive grain from the hopper A through the valved opening when the leg 0 is set up or inclined, as shown in Fig. 1. The upper end of the leg 0 has a flexible or adjustable discharge-spout 0 which may be extended into the granary-door or other opening provided for reception of grain. Within the leg-casing 0 is arranged an endless belt 0 Fig. 1, carrying a series of cups or buckets c and running on pulleys or wheels 0 at top and bottom of the leg. This feature involves nothing novel over elevator-legs in general use. When the leg 0 is set up for use, it is secured at the lower end to the hopper A by means of short hooks I and staples 0 (see Fig. 1) and by longer hooks K, pivoted to the end of the frame B and engaging staples c fixed on the sides of the leg at or near its middle. These means permit easy connection and disconnection of parts, yet serve to hold the leg 0 in place with the required rigidity.

The-elevator-belt o is driven by a belt L, that runs from a pulley m on a driving-shaft M, held on the rear end of the frame B, to a pulley 0 mounted on the extended axis of the upper belt-Wheel 0 This driving-shaft M is suitably connected with the tumbling rod N of a horse-power or other motor. (Not shown.) The tumbling-rod N may pass be; tween the spokes of one of the rear wheels of the elevator.

The manner of practical use of my elevator is, briefly, as follows: Supposing the ele* vator to have been hauled to the granary and placed alongside the same and the hopper A lowered to due horizontal position, the leg 0 is set up and secured by the hooks I and K, as shown in Fig. 1. Then a farm-wagon loaded with grain is backed up to the elevator, so that its rear end will project over the side of the latter, as indicated by dotted lines, and upon raising the end-gate a of the wagon the grain will run into and fill the hopper A, the operation being aided, if need be, by a shovel or other means forpushing the grain to the point of discharge. Then the hopper-gate a being raised and the elevator-belt 0 set running by the actuating tumbling-rod N, the grain is delivered bygravity from the hopper and automatically taken up and transferred into the granary by the endless belt 0, as will be readily understood.

When it is required to store the elevator or transport it from one point to another, the leg 0 is detached and placed horizontally alongside the hopper on the lateral brackets er as shown in Fig. 4. The lower end of the hopperAis also elevated by the Windlass, Fig. 4, and held in such position so that it is not liable to come in contact with stones, knolls, or other obstructions.

In place of backing the wagon up to the side of the, elevator it may be backed up to the front when the tongue or pole F is detached. Thus constructed and operated the elevator performs the work of transferring a load of grain with greater despatch than several men and with a saving of expense. It may be stated that if a horse-power is used to drive the elevator-carrier it may be economically driven by detaching the team from the wagon and attaching it to the horse-power; but in some cases an electric motor or traction-engine will be utilized in place of a horsepower.

What I claim is The improved portable grain-elevator, comprising the frame and supporting axles and wheels, the hopper fitted removably in such frame and having an inclined bottom and valved discharge-opening at the lowest point, the elevator-leg attached as shown, and a winding-shaft and ropes arranged on the frame for supporting and adjusting the larger end of the hopper, as shown and described.

' ISAAC A. MILTON.

Witnesses:

ROBERT SHORE, FRANK T. GRAVES. 

